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A to Z of Simple Sales Tips: J – Join forces with other suppliers to become a super-power (but beware of bad bed-fellows!)

In today’s modern business world, your customers are increasingly under pressure to find the right solutions to their problems as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. They want to buy from suppliers who they know, like and trust – and don’t really want to go through the hassle of trying out new faces. This can be a massive challenge for you if you are trying to break into new markets and businesses.

Joining forces with other suppliers can your customers and you. The benefit to your customers is that you can offer them a wider range of services than what you are limited to by offering only your own – for instance, if you are a graphic designer, it makes sense to team-up with a web-designer and a photographer. This would mean if your customer wanted a new web-site you could manage the whole project and your customer could save time and effort by using someone who they know, like and trust for the entire job – you!

The benefit to you is that your customer thinks your great, you can often charge a fee for project-managing the job and you develop a relationship with other suppliers that should result in you being on the receiving end of being offered work when they get projects with their customers – win win!

A word of warning though – make sure you only get into a business relationship with other suppliers you also know, like and trust. Getting into bed with bad bed-fellows can be disastrous, leading to the souring of relationships with your customers if they receive a bad service from one of your team-ups.

Get it right though, and the benefits for you, your customers and your team of suppliers can be great!